This has nothing to do with aircraft. This is about beaming power to low-orbit satellites. The problem with low-orbit radar satellites (the spy satellites tracking ships) is that they need lots of power. In the past this was done with small nuclear reactors but today that is unacceptable and virtually all satellites use solar panels. But sarge solar panels means higher drag and shorter lifetimes in low orbit. Being able to 'beam' power from a higher orbit means one could power more aerodynamic low orbit satellites.
Ya. The public report on the super-secret space plane touts that it is studying far-off green energy solutions when those same technologies have much more immediate military effects. It's like the USAF saying that it is studying lasers in order to build better CD players. Everyone takes such statements with a grain of salt. Nobody thinks that we are getting the full story behind these experiments and we chuckle a bit at the poor junior officer instructed to "be creative" with descriptions in public statements.
I didn't say anything about green energy, and while the grandparent comment did, I don't think it was implied that it was the motivation of the experiment. Powering military drones for indefinite dwell time is a very plausible use case among many listed in the article.
Umm, TFA is on the X-37B spaceplane, but it specifically speaks a lot about potentially using the power for aircraft and drones. And the potential for indefinite drone flight duration.
You're not wrong about low orbit sats in general, but it's only one of many potential military (and/or civilian) uses. And it's not the use the article focuses on.
